This is potentially big. Really big. Fatigue has always been the most common of MS symptoms and it's typically a crusher. What does this new research mean? You just might be able to beat it back with high-intensity interval training.

I've been doing HIIT for years, and for the last couple of years I have focused intently on it, regularly getting my heart rate into the 140s in bursts. Is it helping me walk better? No, as this study confirms. But do I have fatigue? Compared to most with MS, no. Virtually none. At first I thought it was a 50/50 combination of the luck of the draw and exercise, but this research says otherwise. Maybe we can create our own luck.

Join me. A link to my recently published article on exercise hacks is on www.ActiveMSers.org along with 100+ exercise tips. Let's do this! - Dave

Objective: To determine the effects of short-term high intensity interval training (HIIT) on aerobic fitness and fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Background: Physical activity has a positive effect on a variety of attendant symptoms associated with MS. Moderate endurance exercise has been preferentially recommended, but the effects of HIIT are largely unknown.

Design/Methods: 40 patients with relapsing-remitting MS and an EDSS of < 3.5 exercised for eight weeks on a bicycle-ergometer three times weekly according to two different protocols (HIIT versus moderate endurance training) in a prospective monocentric, randomized, simple blinded cohort study. Measurements were taken at baseline and after eight weeks of training. Individual aerobic fitness was assessed by steep ramp anaerobic test (SRAT), fatigue by the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), depression by the ADS-L questionnaire, a German version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), sleep quality according to the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and ambulation was measured by the Timed 25-Foot Walk Test (T25-FW) .

Results: 29 patients completed the program. FSS decreased significantly after HIIT (p=0.04) but not after moderate training. Moreover, aerobic fitness increased significantly in the HIIT group (p<0.01). No changes with regard to ADS-L, PQSI and T25FW were detected in both subgroups independent of the presence or absence of fatigue.

Conclusions:
HIIT is a promising time-efficient approach in subjects with MS leading to rapid improvement of aerobic fitness and fatigue.